英国《外交官》杂志刊登对刘晓明大使的采访（汉英对照）

AMBASSADOR OF CHINA <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

His Excellency Liu Xiaoming

中国新任驻英大使刘晓明和夫人胡平华于今年2月底抵达伦敦。到任以来，刘大使对英国普通民众对中国的浓厚兴趣印象深刻，这种“坚实的民意基础”使他“作为中国驻英大使更有信心进一步推进中英关系”。 

China's new Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Mr Liu Xiaoming,arrived in London at the end of February with his wife, Mrs Hu Pinghua. Since then, Ambassador Liu has been 'impressed' by the interest displayed by ordinary British people in China. This 'very solid foundation in terms of people-to-people relationships', he says, gives him 'confidence, as Ambassador, to work for better relations' between the two countries.

刘大使在中国北方长大，1974年毕业于大连外国语学院，其后开始外交官生涯，“将全部精力投入外交事业”。刘大使于1982-1983年赴美国塔夫茨大学弗莱彻法律外交学院学习，获国际关系硕士学位。他谈起这段学习经历时表示“非常有益和宝贵”，但他从未停止过学习，将自己的外交生涯也视为一所大学校，并从六次常驻经历中获益匪浅。 

Mr Liu grew up in northern China, and after graduating from Dalian University of Foreign Languages he joined the Foreign Service in 1974. He has since 'devoted his career to diplomacy.' A Master degreein international relations, undertaken in 1982-83 at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, may have been 'very helpful and valuable' to his diplomatic career, but in truth the Ambassador never stopped studying: 'I regard my career itself as a school,' he says. 'I have learnt so much from my six foreign postings.'

刘大使曾先后在中国驻赞比亚、美国大使馆和中国外交部担任数职，2001-2003年担任中国驻埃及大使。在埃及他认识到“两个各有特色的文明古国之间进行对话”的重要性。2005-2006年，他出任中国中央外办副主任，其后于2006至2009年出任中国驻朝鲜大使。他认为，在朝鲜任职“颇具挑战性”，同时表示其在朝鲜积累的经验“有助于与英国同事共同努力，为维护地区和世界的和平与稳定贡献力量”。

After numerous assignmentsin Zambia, the US and the Ministry back home, Mr. Liu was appointed Ambassador to Egypt (2001-2003), where he learnt the importance 'of fostering dialogue between two ancient, but different, civilisations.' Then, Mr. Liu served as Vice Minister at the Central Foreign Affairs Office of China (2005-06) before he took up his second ambassadorship in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2006-09), which he describes as 'challenging', while acknowledging the experience he gained there: 'I think it will be very helpful in terms of engaging my British colleagues in advancing our common goals of peace and stability.'

刘大使用“IDEA”一词来总结其作为驻英大使的使命。“I”代表利益（interests），即中英应进一步扩大共同利益，将双边和多边合作的蛋糕越做越大，“充分挖掘两国在政治、经济、文化和教育领域合作的潜力”；“D”代表对话（dialogue），正如丘吉尔所说，动嘴对话总比动手对抗好，刘大使强调对话永远好于对抗；“E”代表探索（exploration），即不断探索新的合作领域，如绿色能源等；“A”代表互谅(accommodation)，即由于中英在政治体制、文化传统和历史方面的差异，两国不可能在所有问题上看法一致，但双方应在相互尊重的基础上互谅互让，照顾彼此关切。 

Mr Liu uses the acronym IDEA to summarise his mission in the UK. 'I' is for 'interest' –although China and the UK already share many bilateral and international interests, he believes that these need to be expanded, 'to tap the full potential of political, economic, cultural and educational cooperation'. 'D' is for 'dialogue' –quoting Winston Churchill's saying, 'To jaw, jaw is always better than to war, war', the Ambassador stresses that 'dialogue is always better than confrontation'. 'E' is for 'exploration' –Mr Liu wants China and the UK to identify and explore new areas of co-operation, such as green energy. Finally, 'A' is for 'accommodation' –'Differences in political systems, cultural heritage and history mean it's only natural for China and the UK not to see eye-to-eye on every issue,' he notes. 'We need to accommodate each other and address concerns with respect.'

刘大使对博物馆和历史兴趣浓厚。他谈到在肯辛顿参观阿尔伯特亲王纪念碑时发现亲王塑像右手拿着第一届世博会的展览目录。第一届世博会于1851年在英国水晶宫举行，吸引了来自25个国家的代表参展，600多万人参观。刘大使在谈到上海世博会时非常兴奋，认为世博会“提供了拓展中国与世界的经贸和文化联系的机会”。为期六个月的世博会还将向世界展示中国和上海的新面貌，预计将接待7000万参观者。 

A museum enthusiast and history buff, Mr Liu recounts his visit to the Albert Memorial in Kensington, where he noticed something held in the hand of the Prince's statue – a catalogue for the first World Expo, which in 1851 drew representatives from 25 countries and more than six million people to the Crystal Palace. He is excitable on the topic of Expo 2010 Shanghai, viewing it as 'an opportunity to expand China'seconomic, trade, cultural relationswith the rest of the world.' Furthermore, this six-month-long festival, set to attract some 70 million visitors, will allow China, and Shanghaiin particularto showcase itself to the world.

当被问及什么是中国面临的最大外交挑战时，风趣而幽默的刘大使语气变得更加严肃。他说，最大的挑战就是如何营造一个和平稳定的国际环境。他指出，“和平、发展和合作一直是，将来很长时期也仍将是中国外交的主要目标”。随着中国国际地位的不断提升，刘大使将如何在英国的工作中实现这些目标？人们充满期待。 

On a more serious note, he acknowledges that fostering a 'peaceful and stable international environment' represents China's greatest diplomatic challenge. 'Peace, development and cooperation have long been the three aims of China's diplomacy,' he says, 'and will remain so for a long time to come.' It will be fascinating to watch Ambassador Liu pursue these objectives in London while his country grows ever more prominent on the world stage.